Putting practice device

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a practice putting apparatus ( 100 ). The practice putting apparatus has a putting target ( 101 ), and a light source ( 120   a,    120   b ) for lighting a guide path on a practice surface, the guide path being parallel to a putting line ( 124 ) along which a golf ball is intended to be struck at said target to thereby provide a visual aid to alignment of the putter head when making a putting stroke along the putting line.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims benefit of Australian provisionalapplication 2004905618 filed 28 Sep. 2004 and U.S. provisionalapplication No. 60/669,364 filed 8 Apr. 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a golf putting practice device.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

There are a number of variables involved in putting in the game of golf.Typically, the golfer first chooses a putting line along which to puttby assessing the slope of the green to determine what “borrow” isnecessary so that if the putting line is predicted correctly and theball is struck along the putting line at the correct pace, the ball willtravel from where it is located on the green into the hole. The puttingline is determined by a number of factors including the severity ofslopes on the green and the speed of the green. Assuming the golfer isable to determine the correct putting line, the golfer must also strikethe golf ball along the right putting line. To do so, the planar surfaceof the putter club head must be substantially perpendicular (or“square”) to the putting line on which the golfer strikes the ball whenthe ball is struck and the putter club head must be moving substantiallyalong the putting line. For example, in the case of a straight puttwhere there is no borrow, the putting line will extend directly from thecentre of the golf ball to the hole. If the ball is struck along theputting line, the ball should go in the hole. However, if it is notstruck along the correct line it will miss the holes. The necessarydegree of alignment of the putter depends on the length of the putt andit will be appreciated that as the putt gets longer alignment of theputter correctly becomes more important.

It will be appreciated that the mechanics of the human body are suchthat any club that is swung will tend to move in an arc around theplayer's body and hence, depending on the length of the player's backswing, will tend to move off the putting line. In order to strike theball correctly, the player needs to have the club face square and theputting club travelling along the putting line.

It is not legal in golf to make any lines or marks on the green in orderto aid in putting. Accordingly, it is necessary for golfers to practicetheir alignment if they wish to improve their putting. Putting is anactivity that does not require much special equipment in order to bepracticed and it can be practiced on practice surfaces such as floorsthat have an appropriate floor covering such as carpet. Typically whenpracticing golf, the golfer practices by aiming at a target.

It would be advantageous to provide a golf putting practice apparatusthat enabled the user to practice alignment of the putter club head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a practice putting apparatus comprising:

-   -   a putting target; and    -   a light source for lighting a guide path on a practice surface,        the guide path being parallel to a putting line along which a        golf ball is intended to be struck at said target to thereby        provide a visual aid to alignment of the putter head when making        a putting stroke along the putting line.

In an embodiment said putting target comprises a golf ball return devicefor returning a ball that reaches a simulated golf hole towards theplace from which it was struck.

In an embodiment said light source comprises a first light and a secondlight.

Preferably, each light emits a broad planar beam of light in a planesubstantially perpendicular to said practice surface to thereby lightsaid guide path.

Preferably, each light comprises a laser and a cylindrical prism.

In one embodiment, the first and second lights are mounted to a housingof said putting target device.

Preferably, said first and second lights are spaced apart whereby saidguide path comprises a pair of spaced apart lines of light.

Thus, in use, a golfer can align the putter between the two lines oflight.

Preferably, one or both of the lights is slidably mounted to the housingso that one or both of the lines of light can be moved.

Thus, the position of the lines can be adjusted to account for the sizeof the putter or any borrow of the practice surface.

In one embodiment, one or more of the lights may be detachable mountedto the housing.

In one embodiment, a first light is located on said housing and a secondlight is movable whereby it can be placed on the opposite side of theposition where the putter is to be located relative to the target andaligned with the first light such that said guide path comprises asingle line of light parallel to said putting line.

Preferably, said first light is slidably mounted to said housing tothereby allow adjustment of said line of light so that it is coincidentwith the putting line.

In another embodiment, said light source comprises a light mounted on ahousing housing said putting target and a mirror to be placed on theopposite side to the target of the position where the putter is to belocated and aligned relative to the light to reflect light from thelight such that said guide path comprises a single line of lightparallel to said putting line.

The apparatus may also include a timer for turning off at least part ofsaid light source after a predetermined period of time.

In an embodiment said light source comprises a light mounted on ahousing that houses that target, and said apparatus further comprises alaunch mat from which the golf ball can be struck, the launch matcomprising alignment means that can be aligned along the guide path, andwhich provides a continuation of the guide path when the light source isblocked by the putter.

The alignment means may comprise linear markings on the mat. alignmentmeans may comprise a linear indentation in the mat.

It is preferred in this embodiment that the light is centrally mountedrelative to the target.

The apparatus may comprise an additional light source comprising firstand second side lights mounted to either side of the target.

The apparatus may further comprise switching means for switching betweenat least first and second modes of operations the side lights operatingin the first mode and the central lights operating in the second mode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a practice putting apparatusof a first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-section along a cross-section coincidentwith line 124 a in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a practice putting apparatus of asecond preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a practice putting apparatus of athird preferred embodiment in a first mode of operation; and

FIG. 5 shows a second mode of operation of the practice puttingapparatus of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a practice putting apparatus100,120. The practice putting apparatus has a putting target in the formof a golf ball return device 100 and has a light source 120 provided byfirst light 120 a which is mounted on the housing 110 of the golf ballreturn device 100. The second light 120 b is movable and is intended tobe aligned in use with the first light to define a single line of light124 that provides a guide path parallel to a putting line along which agolf ball is intended to be struck at the golf ball return device 100 tothereby provide a visual aid to the alignment of the putter 50 having aputting face 52 so that a golfer can practice aligning the putterrelative to the putting line when striking a golf ball. That is, so thatthe putter face is square to the putting line and the putter club headis moving substantially along the putting line.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the line of light 124 consists of a firstportion 124 a which is projected by the first light 120 a and a secondportion 124 b which is projected by the second light source 120 b. Eachlight source 120 emits a broad planar beam of light so as to project aline along a practice surface 40 on which the practice putting apparatus100,120 is located. That is, the lights are positioned so that the beamof light is perpendicular to the base of the housing 110 and hence tothe practice surface. The first light 120 is slidably mounted withingroove 112 of housing 110 in order to allow adjustment of the guidepath. This allows the person practicing to adjust for any borrow causedby unevenness in the practice surface. That is, most floors are unevenso that the ball will tend to roll from left to right or right to left.Accordingly, if the putting line from the place where the putter head 50is located to the golf ball return device 100 corresponds to arrow A orB, the golfer can move first light 120 a to align with the correctputting line and then move second light 120 b so that it lines up withthe first line. As both the first and second lights 120 project lines oflight on the practice surface 40 it is easy to align them correctly.

The apparatus will now be explained in more detail with reference toFIG. 2 which is a schematic cross-sectional view of the golf ball returndevice 100 and the first light 120 a placed on practice surface 40. Itwill be seen that golf ball return device 100 has a ramp 101 up whichthe golf ball travels when struck correctly to rest in dish portion 102.A sensor 103 is placed at the bottom of the dish so that when the ballcomes to rest on the sensor it triggers a return mechanism 104. Thereturn mechanism 104 is not shown in detail however persons skilled inthe art will be familiar with the operation of such devices. Typicallythey have a spring loaded mechanism which is loaded upon the golf ballbeing received on the sensor 103. The spring loaded mechanism draws backa shaft and then releases the shaft to strike the golf ball and returnit back towards the golfer. It is also known in the art to make thismechanism adjustable so that the player can adjust the distance throughwhich the ball is returned.

Light 120 a consists of a mounting portion 121 that is slidably receivedwithin groove 122. The light has a laser 122 and a cylindrical prism 123which projects a broad planer beam of light 125 which will define line124 a on the practice surface 40.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that any appropriate powersource such as mains power or battery power can be used to power thereturn mechanism 104 and light 120 a. Second light 120 b is essentiallyof the same construction as light 120 a, however, it typically has abroader base so it is easier to position. It will be more usual forlight 120 b to be battery operated as this makes it more convenient tomove this light 120 b into position. Persons skilled in the art willappreciate that if light 120 a is strong enough, light 120 b can bereplaced by a mirror to reflect the second portion 124 b of the singleline of light when aligned correctly. An advantage of the firstembodiment is that the lines of light are on both the target side of theputter and behind the putter the line of light (as perceived by thegolfer) is not interrupted by the golf ball or the putter head 50 sothat no matter where the putter is located along line 124 the golferwill be able to perceive whether they have aligned their club faceperpendicularly to the putting line.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that a number of additionalfeatures can be incorporated into the apparatus. For example, the devicemay incorporate a timer which switches off the lights 120 after a fixedperiod such as five minutes after the device is turned on. This has theadvantage of defining a strict practice period for the golfer (forexample, if the golfer is practicing in their office) and also as actingas a power saving device. Further possible variations will be apparentfrom the description of the other embodiments.

A second preferred embodiment of a practice putting apparatus 200,220 isillustrated in FIG. 3. Where appropriate, the same reference numeralsare used to describe elements in the second preferred embodiment thatare like elements in the first embodiment. The light source in thesecond preferred embodiment is provided by a pair of lights 220 a, 220 bboth mounted within groove 112. The lights are slidably mounted so thattheir position can be moved. In this embodiment, the guide path isdefined by lines of light 224 a and 224 b which pass to either side ofputter head 50. The lights can be slidably adjusted to adjust the widthof the gap between first line of light 224 a and second line of light224 b so that the lines of light pass just to the side of the putterhead 50 when the golfer putts along putting line C. As in the firstembodiment, the lights 220 can also be adjusted in order to adjust fordifferent required putting lines to account for borrow in the practicesurface 40. In one variant of this embodiment, one or both of the lights220 is made detachable so that the person can switch from a first modein which they practice keeping their putter perpendicular to the puttingline C with lines to either side of the putter head and a second modewhere they can practice in accordance with the technique of the firstembodiment.

Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous minorvariations can be made. For example, rather than mounting the lightswithin the groove, the lights can be mounted on a rail or, the firstlight can be mounted substantially within the housing, for exampledirectly above return mechanism 104.

The light sources may also incorporate a means for adjusting theorientation of the light so that the line extends substantially in theregion of where the putter is to be located. It will also be appreciatedthat one or more light sources may be fixed in position on the housingor that the light source may be configured to project a beam alongdifferent lines using diverting optics such as mirrors to vary the path.

Further, rather than a golf ball return device, the target could be inthe form of a simulated hole in the region of dish portion 102 and theperson could manually retrieve their balls. Other return mechanisms arealso known in the art and can be substituted for the return mechanism ofthe preferred embodiment. These and other modifications will be apparentto persons skilled in the art. In particular, further modifications mayincorporate features of other embodiments described herein.

A practice putting apparatus of a third embodiment is illustrated inFIGS. 4 and 5. In this embodiment the apparatus 300 has three fixedlights 320 comprising first and second side lights 320 a, 320 b and acentral light 320 c.

FIG. 4 illustrates the apparatus in a first mode of operation where thetwo side lights 320 a,320 b are on so as to define a guide path by firstline of light 324 a and second line of light 324 b.

The apparatus also has a switching mechanism for switching the apparatusfrom a state in which it is off, to the first mode of operationillustrated in FIG. 4 and to a second mode of operation illustrated inFIG. 5. The switching means includes a switch 330 mounted to the top ofthe housing 110, the switch 330 is formed of rubber and has a pluralityof rubber fins 331 to facilitate switching of the switch with the headof a putter.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown the apparatus of FIG. 4operating in a second mode of operation in which the first and secondside lights 320 a, 320 b are off and the central light 320 c is on. Toenhance this mode of operation, it is preferred that in this embodimentthe apparatus is additionally provided with a launch mat 360 from whicha golf ball can be struck. The launch mat has an alignment means in theform of linear markings 361 that allows the launch mat 360 to be alignedwith the remainder of the guide path defined by the light 320 c (i.e.line of light 324 c).

The line markings may be the same colour as the light to thereby givethe appearance of the guideline extending beyond the putter head 50 evenwhen the putter blocks the light 324 c from the light source 320 c.

In a further embodiment, the alignment means may, additionally, oralternatively comprise an elongate depression in the mat 360 along whichthe golf ball can be struck in use.

Variation or further modifications of the third embodiment will beapparent to persons skilled in the art including variations employingfeatures of the other embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A practice putting apparatus comprising: aputting target comprising a housing and a simulated golf hole and a golfball return device for returning a ball that reaches said simulated golfhole towards the place from which it was struck; a light source thatdirects light outwardly relative to the housing to light a guide path ona practice surface, the guide path being parallel to a putting linealong which a golf ball is intended to be struck at said target tothereby provide a visual aid to alignment of a putter head when making aputting stroke along the putting line, wherein the light source isformed from a combination of a central light mounted to the housing soas to be centrally mounted relative to the target and first and secondside lights mounted to the housing to either side of the target; and aswitching mechanism configured for electrically switching between atleast first and second modes of operation, the side lights operating inthe first mode and the central light operating in the second mode. 2.The practice putting apparatus of claim 1, wherein each light emits abroad planar beam of light in a plane substantially perpendicular to apractice surface to thereby light said guide path.
 3. The practiceputting apparatus of claim 2, wherein each light comprises a laser and acylindrical prism.
 4. The practice putting apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a mirror to be placed on the opposite side to the target ofthe position where the putter is to be located and aligned relative tothe light to reflect light front the light such that said guide pathcomprises a single line of light parallel to said putting line.
 5. Thepractice putting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a timer forturning off at least part of said light source after a predeterminedperiod of time.
 6. The practice putting apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a launch mat from which the golf ball can be struck, thelaunch mat comprising alignment means that can be aligned along theguide path, and which provides a continuation of the guide path when thelight source is blocked by the putter.
 7. The practice putting apparatusof claim 6, wherein the alignment means comprise linear markings on themat.
 8. The practice putting apparatus of claim 6, wherein the alignmentmeans comprises a linear indentation in the mat
 9. The practice puttingapparatus of claim 1, wherein said first and second side lights aremounted within a housing for said target to either side of said target.10. The practice putting apparatus of claim 1, wherein said switchingmechanism is engageable by a putter.
 11. The practice putting apparatusof claim 10, wherein said switching mechanism has a plurality of finsengageable by the putter.
 12. The practice putting apparatus of claim 1,wherein said switching mechanism is further configured for switching thepractice putting apparatus from a state in which it is off.